THE INTRODUCTION:

In this small text from the book of Matthew, we find three very interesting happenings occurred at the same instant that our Lord died on the cross…

“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom”

“and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

Do we appreciate the importance and miraculous nature of these occurrences? What can we learn about Christ and His work from them?

In this lesson we will be attempting to come to a partial understanding of these things realizing that we, as sinful mankind, can never come to a complete understanding of them this side of heaven.

THE SCRIPTURES:

Mat 27:50-54 –

(50) Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

(51) And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

(52) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

(53) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

(54) Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

THE STUDY:

In Matthew chapter 27, we find three very interesting happenings occurred at the same instant that our Lord died on the cross…

“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom”

“and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

To understand some of the lessons we can learn from these three great occurrences, it is important we include verse 54 in our study of verses 50-53…

“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

From this verse, we can see that these events brought glory and honor to Jesus to the eyes and mind of the Roman military leader (centurion). After seeing these things, he said “Truly this was the Son of God”, referring to Christ’s claims about His relationship with His heavenly Father.

By using this title, the Centurion was recognizing that these three events had accredited Christ’s claims of origin and divinity ….

Christ found His origin in heaven…

John 6:38– “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

Christ was God Himself…

John 10:30-31 – “I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.”

The centurion had come to understand that this Jesus “Truly was the Son of God”, just as Christ had claimed…

Mat 16:15-17 – “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

But, for the Christian, the lessons that can be learned from these three events go much farther. In these miracles, we can see the purpose and results of Christ’s death on the cross.

The first of these miracles was the veil of the temple being torn in two from top to bottom, for the first time ever, giving Jews unfettered access to the very presence of God (signified by the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the temple building).

“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” – This speaks of Christ’s death giving sinful mankind access to God. The lost mankind, due to their sin, alienates them from a holy God. The shed blood of Christ on the cross, when a lost man comes to faith in Christ, covers their sin and gives eternal access to God. This is symbolically proclaimed when the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom

“and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” – An earthquake accompanies the Lord at many of His appearances to man on earth (Exo 19:18, Nahum 1:5, Isa 29:6). Why is this? Because when the great Lord visits sinful creation all the earth trembles at His presence (Psa 97:4). These principles help us to understand the truth behind the earthquake that took place at Christ’s death. It was at that point in time that God’s presence is clearly seen. As Christ completed His work on the cross, we saw both the wrath of God and the love of God being clearly brought into view. His wrath, as it took the life of Christ and His love, as Christ died for us.

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” – This speaks of the new life that Christ’s death has graciously supplied to sinful mankind. When the lost person comes to a saving faith in Christ, they begin to live a new earthly life in Christ and inherit eternal spiritual life to be enjoyed in this world and the one to come.

CONCLUSION:

The tearing of the veil, the earthquake and the resurrection of the dead, glorify and honor Jesus, showing us that He is the true Son of God. But we also have two of the great blessings of Christ’s work given to us… access to God and the new life we enjoy now and in eternity.

May we all bring honor to Christ, knowing that He was God Himself, who came from heaven to earth to on our behalf. May we understand that, as He hung on the cross, He was giving His life for us, and He was graciously bearing God’s wrath against our sins. In doing so, He was giving us permanent access to God and a new life to enjoy on earth and throughout eternity.

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About Godsmanforever

I present posts about God's Word, with a personal focus on how God's grace is received through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ... Sinners must understand and obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ... See this link for more...
https://godsmanforever.com/2014/10/26/the-truth-about-sin-10262014-by-bruce-reposted-from-7112013/

This is a blog page dedicated to ministering to those wounded in soul, body, mind, or spirit. Many subjects may be touched upon through my many reflections, muses, or ramblings, however, always will the posts and messages have a Spiritual message that the Lord may be glorified.